After Effects
by Deliwiel
Summary: Prompt from Gib where, after a physically demanding mission, Jack and Mac have to get checked out by a doctor. Terrible summary, full prompt is inside! One-shot, complete!


_**Hey all! So this is a prompt from Gib, to whom I am so so so sorry that it took this long to get it out. I am a terrible person! Also, I've been at Comiccon all weekend and am exhausted, but I really wanted to get this out, so if you spot any mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them :)**_

 _ **Sorry, I feel like this whole story is a little rough, especially the first part. I wasn't sure how to fix it :/**_

 _ **Also, Karana, I am working on that prompt that you gave me :) I don't know when it will be up, but it is being worked on!**_

 _ **Full prompt is at the bottom :)**_

 _ **I do not own these wonderful characters, except Dr. Fife; he is mine!**_

Jack and MacGyver ran through the streets of Denver, Colorado, chasing after Kyle Carlisle. Franklin Roberts, a CIA agent Jack had known back in his days in the agency, had contacted he and MacGyver about Carlisle, a man Roberts had said had connections to a domestic terrorist gang. When Jack and Mac got there though, Carlisle made them early, and he bolted. MacGyver and Jack were now running through the streets, chasing after Carlisle.

Mac and Jack watched as Kyle ran around the corner, and they didn't pause as they followed after him. Once they rounded the corner though, they were met by a group of at least six men waiting for them, including Kyle. The two agents skidded to a stop, staring at the new men they had to fight. There was a small moment where nothing happened, and then suddenly everything seemed to start at once. There was a tense moment of silence as everyone sort of looked at each other and tried to silently figure out a game plan, but then the fighting started.

The men surged towards Mac and Jack, and the two Phoenix agents suddenly had their hands full. The majority of the men converged on Jack, while only two approached Mac.

The two men came at Mac, fists swinging. Mac ducked the first punch and was able to absorb most of the second punch by curling in on himself and backing away slightly, causing the fist to glance off his side, mostly painlessly. Without missing a beat, Mac smashed his palm into one of their noses. The man immediately dropped to the ground; Mac knew he hadn't hit him hard enough to kill him, that definitely wasn't his thing, but he knew the man was out of the fight. He turned to face the last man who had attacked him, but he was surprised to find the man closer than he thought he was.

He grabbed Mac by his lapels and lifted the kid off his feet, slamming the blond into the wall. The back of Mac's head connected with the brick, leaving him seeing stars. Mac grunted as the man placed his forearm against the young man's throat and applied pressure. The Phoenix agent struggled against the grip for a minute, the stopped. He knew he had to keep a level head if he was going to get out of this. It was a little difficult to take in deep breaths to calm himself, but he did his best.

After a moment of calming down, Mac suddenly brought his arms up on the inside of his captor's arms. Mac thrust his arms up and out with as much force as he could, breaking the connection his captor had on him. The blond dropped to the ground with a small gasp as he breathed in a breath of fresh air, but his celebration was cut short as he saw the man coming for him again. Mac ducked away from the punch aimed towards his face, allowing the man to dig his fist into the wall. Mac's attacker grunted in pain, and the distraction gave Mac just enough time to jump on the man's back and catch him in a chokehold.

The man wasn't much bigger than Jack, and Mac had used this move on Jack during their training sessions, so Mac knew he had a decent chance to take his attacker down. The man grunted and flailed his arms, trying to reach back and grab the smaller man on his back, but even when he did grab Mac's shirt, he wasn't able to pry the wannabe spider monkey off of his back.

Mac felt the man begin to turn around, and he had a vision of a certain movie flash through his mind as the large man he was on backed up, smashing Mac's back into the wall. The agent grunted but didn't let go of the man he was holding, even though the pain and pressure was great on his back and ribs. He simply increased the strength of his hold, and even though the terrorist continued to smash Mac against the wall, within a few moments, the pressure from Mac's hold finally brought down the attacker.

Jack's POV of the Fight

Jack ducked the first punch thrown at him and landed his own hit in their gut. Jack didn't pause though; he knew that was only one of four people coming after him, leaving three on one still. His entire attention was focused on fighting and avoiding being hit; all his senses were on high alert, making him more aware of his surroundings. He heard someone coming from his right and he immediately turned, driving his fist into someone's nose. He heard a sickening crack and heard a howl of pain from the man he had just punched, but was shocked to see the man coming back into the fray. Someone rammed their shoulder into Jack's middle, knocking the air out of him and running him into the wall. Jack pounded his fists and elbows on the back of the man who had run into him, aiming as well as he could for the man's kidneys. He finally got a good, solid hit, causing the man to let him go, and Jack delivered a punch to the face to finish the job, dropping the man like a stone.

Once that man was taken care of, Jack immediately clapped his open palms on the sides of the head of one of the remaining men who had started coming towards him. That man fell to the ground as well, clutching at his ears and crying out in pain, leaving only two men left, one of those men being Kyle Carlisle. Jack turned to face the one who wasn't Carlisle and was immediately greeted by a forehead colliding with his nose. Jack reeled back, clutching at his now-bleeding nose, now grateful that there was a wall behind him providing support. His head was killing him, but he couldn't focus on that right then due to the fist that was quickly approaching his face. Jack's eyes widened and he ducked, barely in time to avoid the punch. The older Phoenix agent followed up with his own punch to the man's gut, and when that man doubled over, Jack introduced his knee to the man's face.

All that was left now was Kyle; Jack squared off with the man, the two of them waiting to see who would go first. Jack finally took the initiative and ran forward, crashing into Kyle and knocking them both to the ground. Kyle's foot connected with Jack's forehead, knocking Jack over onto his back and stunning the older man for a moment. While Jack was unresponsive, Kyle wrapped his legs around Jack's waist, pinning them both to the ground. Jack got his wits about him again and began struggling, thrashing around to try and break free. When that didn't have the desired effect, the older agent threw his elbow back into the face of Kyle.

There was a pop and a grunt, and the legs finally unraveled from Jack's midsection. Jack didn't waste a minute. He immediately turned around and popped Kyle in the mouth, making the man clutch at his face in agony. Jack knew that Kyle was out of commission, so he looked for his young partner. He saw the kid clutching at a large man's neck in a hold that looked very familiar to Jack, while the man was dropping to his knees. Jack realized that Mac had the two men who had attacked him under control, so he focused on restraining the men who had attacked him.

He used each of their own belts to secure their hands behind their backs, then pulled out his phone and called the local authorities. Once he had done that, he walked over to make sure that Mac was actually okay. The kid was gingerly getting to his feet, and he did the same thing to restrain his men as well, by using their own belts.

"You all good?" Jack asked, looking at his partner with concern. The young agent looked like he was in a lot of pain, but Mac simply nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said. "Got 'Princess Bride'-ed by him, but I'll live. You?" he asked, looking at the older man and seeing that he had a bruise blossoming across his forehead and the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I'm goo-" Jack almost finished his sentence before he fell against the wall, looking very, very pale.

"Jack?" Mac asked, concern lining his features and his voice. He moved next to his friend and immediately began checking his friend's eyes and pulse, trying to see what was wrong. "I think you've got a concussion," he stated.

"I'm good," Jack said, waving his friend away. "I've had concussions before," he reminded Mac.

"Yeah, but it was just a week ago that you headbutted that warlord, remember?"

"I'll be fine, Mac!" Jack insisted. "Stop mother-henning me!"

"You always mother-hen me," Mac reminded Jack as they heard the wailing of cop cars coming towards them. The police skidded to a halt and hopped out of their cars, hurrying over to the downed men. As the men were loaded into the cars, Mac pulled out his phone to call Thornton.

Mac heard his friend groan and was about to ask him what was wrong, but Thornton picked up the phone at that moment.

"Mac, how did it go?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't feel good," Jack muttered. Mac looked at his friend with concern still in his face.

"Jack?" Thornton's voice asked. "Mac, what happened?"

"Long story," Mac said. "Basically Carlisle had friends with him, and they surprised us. We've got them all in custody now, but Jack took a pretty hard hit to the head," Mac explained.

"Hey, Mac got smashed up against a wall a couple times," Jack ratted out in a whiny voice, rubbing his forehead to try and alleviate the headache that was attacking him.

"I'm fine," Mac insisted, glaring at his partner.

"If Mac's fine, I'm fine," Jack stated, folding his arms as if his boss could see. She didn't need to see him though to know what he was doing, and to know how stubborn both of her agents could be.

"You're both going to be checked out by Dr. Fife," she announced over the bickering of her agents.

"Wait...Dr. Fife?" Jack asked in slight confusion.

"The doctor who helped us out with Faith and Hope?" Mac reminded him.

"No, I know who Dr. Fife is," Jack replied, rolling his eyes at his partner. "I'm just confused as to why we aren't waiting to get checked out until we get back to the Foundation?"

"Because by that time, both of you will be insisting that you're good to go home, whereas if you go now, both of you have still-fresh wounds, so you have less of an excuse to not see someone. Also, with this this way, Dr. Fife can get the most accurate analysis."

"But Patty," Jack tried.

"No arguing with me, Jack," Thornton insisted, her voice leaving no room for arguing or negotiation. "You and Mac are both going to get checked out; I've already had someone alert Dr. Fife to let him know you're coming. He's expecting both of you," she said, stressing the fact that both of them had to arrive at the hospital. "I've instructed Dr. Fife that both of you are to be cleared by him before coming back to work; I can't have the two of you out in the field unless I know that neither of you are at risk."

"Thornton, I-"

"Go," Thornton ordered, cutting Mac off mid-sentence. Mac and Jack both looked sullen but they both mumbled that they were going. Thornton disconnected the call, and Mac and Jack grumbled a bit as the officers escorted them to their cars. Apparently Thornton had also had someone contact the chief and informed him that under no circumstances were Mac and Jack allowed to go anywhere alone, and they were to be driven to the hospital, and escorted to Dr. Fife if necessary.

"She's not even giving us exfil coordinates until she gets her reports from Dr. Fife," Jack griped as the two of them sat in the back of the cruiser. "Couldn't you find a way to turn one of these cars into a hovercar or something like that? Something that could get us home?"

Mac rolled his eyes at his partner and didn't answer. As much as he hated getting checked out by a doctor, he realized it had been awhile since both he and Jack had really been checked out thoroughly, and he figured it couldn't hurt.

As the police car drove off and travelled towards the hospital where Dr. Fife worked, Jack finally quieted down. Mac looked over at his friend to make sure he hadn't died, and was slightly surprised to see Jack's face was a startling pasty-white shade.

"Jack?" Mac asked in concern. Jack shook his head, then looked like he instantly regretted that decision. "Okay, hold on," Mac said. "We're almost there," he assured his friend. He leaned up towards the front of the vehicle. "Is there any way we could speed it up a little?" he implored. "He's not doing super great," he explained as the officer not driving looked back. Mac was grateful when he felt the car pick up the pace a little bit, and he sat back, wincing a little as his back made contact with the seat. He was sore, he would admit, but in all honesty he was mostly worried about Jack. Of course Jack had gotten slightly nauseous with other concussions he had received, but he never looked as miserable as he did sitting in the back of the car right then.

Mac felt a wave of relief surge over him as the police car approached the hospital, and he saw Dr. Fife waiting out by the front. The cruiser pulled to a stop and Mac immediately opened his door and got out to help his friend.

"Mr. MacGyver," Dr. Fife greeted, his eyes scanning his patient already, taking in the injuries he could see.

"Dr. Fife," Mac greeted slightly absent-mindedly. He helped Jack get out of the car, and the older agent gently shook off his young friend.

"I'm fine," he insisted. Both MacGyver and Dr. Fife raised skeptical eyebrows, and the two agents were led into the hospital.

0-0-0

Dr. Fife removed the blood pressure cuff from Jack's arm, making a note on his paper. "Still feeling nauseous?" he asked the agent as he listened to Jack's breathing and his heartrate.

"No sir," Jack said honestly. The feeling had passed a few minutes after he got out of the moving car, and was able to sit down somewhere that didn't have scenery speeding by at fifty mph to the side of him.

"Still have a headache?"

Jack thought about lying about that one, but he decided against it, nodding his head. "Yeah, a bit," he admitted with a yawn. "Sorry," he said as he closed his mouth after the yawn.

"That's alright," Dr. Fife assured him. "Drowsiness is common with concussions. We just have to make sure it's not extremely dangerous for you to fall asleep, but as soon as I can guarantee that, I'll let you get some sleep," he promised. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but last time we saw each other, you said you've been hit in the head before, correct?"

"All part of the job, I guess," Jack confirmed.

Dr. Fife didn't ask any more questions as he finished his physical examination. The last thing he did was shine a light in Jack's eyes to test his pupil's responses, and he made one more note on his clipboard before looking at his patient. "I'm going to send these results to your boss," he informed Jack.

"What does it say?" Jack asked, leaning over to try and see.

"That you have a moderate-to-severe concussion and I am recommending at least two weeks before you get back to...whatever it is that your job has you do," he said. "No heavy exertion, no running around, and absolutely NO getting hit in the head," Dr. Fife said, pointing his finger slightly menacingly at Jack.

"Sir, yessir," Jack replied, giving a small salute. He hated being told he couldn't work, but he knew the doc had a point. Besides, it was paid time off, and who didn't love that?

"I'm going to to check on Mr. MacGyver," Dr. Fife informed Jack. "Stay there," he ordered before turning and walking out of the room.

0-0-0

"Sto squirming," the nurse reprimanded Mac lightly. MacGyver opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted as the doctor walked in.

"How is he?" Dr. Fife asked as he walked into the examination room.

"Squirrelly," the nurse replied in slight exasperation. "But I think he'll live," she added, giving Mac a small and slightly frustrated, yet still sincerely sweet smile.

"Thank you, Nurse Jones," Dr. Fife said. The nurse nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the doctor with his younger patient. "Squirrelly, huh?" he asked as he looked over the few notes the nurse had made, which were mainly just the kid's vitals, his blood pressure and such. Mac shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

"Was she prodding too hard at your ribs?" the doctor asked as he examined Mac's torso, which was blossoming with beautiful shades of purple, blue and red.

"No, not really," Mac muttered, going slightly pink in the face. Dr. Fife realized what had happened, and he couldn't help the grin that split his face.

"You're ticklish, huh?" he asked humorously. Mac didn't answer, but his pink ears were the only answer Dr. Fife needed. "I'll make a note of that," he assured the young man.

"Do you have to?" Mac asked meekly.

"Only if you don't want nurses prodding at your ribs like that again," the doctor said with a wink. Mac didn't reply; he simply watched as the doctor scrawled something on his clipboard. "Now," he said, looking up at the agent. "Does it hurt worse to breathe in, out, or about the same?" he asked. "And don't tell me it doesn't hurt," he warned as Mac opened his mouth.

"Why would you think I'd say that?" Mac asked, pretending like that hadn't been exactly what he was going to say.

"Because your boss informed me on the phone that you are a 'suffer-in-silence' type, and she warned me that I was not to let you even let those words come out of your mouth," the doctor replied simply. Mac chuckled softly; that definitely sounded like Thornton.

After a few minutes of Dr. Fife poking around, doing his best to avoid tickling MacGyver, he finally flipped a few sheets over on his clipboard and looked at the young agent.

"I'm going to tell you what I told your partner," he said, looking over his glasses at the blond. "Two weeks off. No heavy exertion, no running, and while I told Jack he wasn't allowed to get hit in the head, you are not allowed to have anything touch your ribs that weighs more than five pounds," he warned.

"Understood," Mac responded. He hated the fact that he wouldn't be able to do anything for two weeks, but he knew Jack would love the paid time off. Mac would just have to make sure that they were able to watch something else besides Bruce Willis movies. Dr. Fife gave the young man a warning look

"I'm sending these reports over to your boss so that she knows exactly what my orders are," he informed Mac. "So no trying to sneak out to do anything crazy."

"I will do my best," Mac promised. It was the best promise he could make; in his line of work, crazy sometimes had a tendency to follow him home. The doctor seemed to accept his patient's promise, and he left the room.

0-0-0

"Okay, Mac and Jack are on their way in now," Thornton informed Riley and Bozer. "They're just coming in to give a quick report, and then they're going home," she added.

"So wait, what happened exactly?" Riley asked, looking up from her computer screen.

"They both got pretty banged up on the mission, and I sent them to see Dr. Fife. He sent in his report, saying he was recommending the two of them stay home for a couple weeks before coming back to work," Patricia explained.

"Wow," Bozer said. "I guess I always thought they could bounce back from anything," he admitted when the two women looked at him.

"Despite what it seems, and despite what Jack likes to pretend, they're both only human," Thornton reminded them.

"Nobody tell Jack," Riley said with a smirk. "It'd crush him if he found out!"

Bozer laughed, and even Thornton smiled. A few minutes passed, and then Mac and Jack walked into the war room. Mac was walking gingerly, but his face didn't give away if he was in pain or not. Jack, on the other hand, was walking confidently. Riley and Bozer couldn't really see anything physically wrong with Jack, though he did have a massive bruise blossoming across his face.

"Hey guys," Bozer greeted, trying to sound casual but failing miserably. Everyone could tell that he was worried about his friends, and Mac gave him a reassuring smile.

"We're fine, Boze," he said, holding his hands out in a calming gesture.

"Says the guy who's got broken ribs," Bozer retaliated.

"Bruised," Mac replied, rolling his eyes in humor at his friend's dramatic streak. "Just severely bruised."

"What about you, Jack?" Riley asked, looking at the older man. Jack shrugged.

"I'm feelin' pretty good," he insisted. "I was able to sleep a little on the flight home, and I'm basically as good as new."

"Except for the fact that you threw up almost immediately after you woke up," Mac reminded his friend.

"You threw up?" Bozer asked, an icky look crossing his features as he backed away slightly.

"It's not like it's the flu or anything," Jack said in annoyance. "Concussions aren't contagious."

"No, but hangin' around you is bound to bring about some trouble, which could lead to a concussion," Bozer pointed out. "So in a way, we could say that by hangin' out with you, concussions could become contagious."

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Thornton interrupted them. "As much as I love to see you arguing, I need to take your report now, in my office," Thornton informed them. "Then you two are going to head home and rest," she ordered sternly. "And NO arguing," she added, giving her two agents a cold stare that stopped their arguments before they even came out. "I have Dr. Fife's reports, and I know exactly what he prescribed, and how long you're out," she reminded them. "Bozer," she said, turning to the newest agent.

"Yes, Director Thornton?" Bozer asked, sounding slightly smug as he knew what she was about to ask.

"I need you to keep an eye on these two," she said, gesturing to the two injured agents.

"Yes ma'am!" Bozer said, a little too gleefully in Mac's opinion.

"Now I have someone telling me your every move," Thornton explained to her agents. "So I'll know if you do anything against the doctor's orders."

"Two weeks, Thornton?" Mac asked, sounding slightly desperate.

"Two weeks," she confirmed firmly.

"You guys are gonna have a lot of time to watch movies," Riley added. "Make sure to invite us sometimes."

"Yeah, Bruce Willis marathon!" Jack crowed triumphantly. Mac groaned.

"We will not watch Bruce Willis the entire two weeks," he insisted.

"Mac, you just need to become more civilized," Jack argued as they followed Thornton into her office to give their report.

Bozer and Riley chuckled. Sure, they hadn't really thought about the physical toll being a spy took on their friend's bodies, but it seemed like no matter how hard the mission, the boys always kept their humor and witty banter around them, and that was something that the two newest Phoenix agents never wanted to change.

 _ **Full Prompt: Mac knows what Jack goes through on missions and Jack usually seemingly bounces back no problem but I don't think Riley or Bozer really appreciate what he does for the team or the lasting effects. So, after a physically demanding mission, Jack has to get a physical to clear him back to work. Riley and Bozer find out what Jack really goes through during and after saving their butts. If you want to satisfy the Mac fans, Mac gets a physical too. ;-)**_

 _ **Also, I've never actually had a physical, at least to my knowledge, so google was really my friend with this...**_

 _ **So? Thoughts? Gib, is it okay? I'm so sorry if it isn't what you were wanting *covers face with hands***_

 _ **But hopefully you guys should all be happy, I'm working hard on 3 other multi-chapter stories, 1 prompt, and playing around with one or two chapter story ideas, so I've got lots in the works if you guys like what I write :) If not... I'm sorry? xD anyway, sorry. I'm going to bed XD**_


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